Geta Eye Hospital

Geta Eye Hospital was established with the financial support from NORAD, Norway in 1981, and it became fully operational from November 1982. Right now, It is one of the financially self-sustained hospital with appreciable patient care. INFIL Foundation, Norway is supporting since January 2005 in some of its activities. This hospital is providing service to the patients of Far Western Region of Nepal as well as patients from Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal of Nothern India. To meet the target (75% reduction of cataract backlog) of its five year plan (2005-2009), this hospital is organizing surgical and screening camps in different parts of this region with support from different organizations and also from its own source. 

 In the year 1980/81, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Government of Nepal undertook a comprehensive eye survey all over the country of Nepal. The survey showed that most of the blindness cases were avoidable. Cataract was found to be the dominant cause of blindness and the next was Trachoma.

 The highest prevalence of blindness was found to be in the Seti and Mahakali Zone due to both Cataract and Trachoma. Therefore, the Government of Nepal and WHO Prevention and Control of Blindness project decided to start blindness prevention and control programs in Seti and Mahakali Zones in 1981. They established Geta Eye Hospital in Geta Village Development Committee (VDC) of Kailali District from the financial support of Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), Norway. The hospital became fully operational in November 1982. and now running  under the umbrella organization Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangh (NNJS).

 The initial financial support for the hospital during the years 1985 to 2004 was provided by the Norwegian Church Aid, Norway. Currently, Geta Eye Hospital is financially self-sustained hospitals with appreciable patient care in Nepal. The INFIL Foundation, Norway has been supporting some since establishment, initially through NCA and after January 2005 independently. 

 WHO WE ARE

Geta Eye Hospital is a service oriented, social organization that provides preventative and curative eye care services in the Far Western Region of Nepal. This hospital provides medical and surgical eye care services with community based outreach activities such as Surgical eye camps and screening camps in all nine districts of the Seti and Mahakali Zones. The hospital also provides eye care services to a large number of patients visiting from Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal of Northern India.

 The number of patients is increasing every year due to continuous improvement in surgical techniques and relatively low service costs of the medical and surgical treatments. These costs are easily affordable for the middle class as well as poor patients.

 WHAT WE DO

Geta Eye Hospital’s vision is to reduce the prevalence of avoidable blindness in the Far Western Region of Nepal below public health significant (0.2%) by the year 2020.

Our mission is to:

•   Provide quality and affordable eye care to the poor and underserved communities
•   Provide free or subsidized treatment to those who cannot afford
•   Provide outreach eye care services in remote villages and areas
•   Create awareness about blinding eye diseases to support the goal of elimination
•   Improve quality of care and services through ongoing research and development
•   Propagate the concept of quality eye care amongst professionals
•   Encourage and strengthen teaching and training programs
•   Prepare qualified Ophthalmic Assistants/Ophthalmologists through training and teaching.

 At Geta Eye Hospital, we provide the following eye care services:

•   Cataract
•   General ophthalmology
•   Oculoplasty services
•   Cornea
•   Glaucoma
•   Medical retina
•   Accident and Emergency
•   Pediatric ophthalmology
•   Optometry and spectacle dispensing services
•   Laboratory services
•   Medical imaging and visual fields testing
•   Pharmacy

 The hospital also provides preventative and curative eye care services to the patients in remote areas of the far west region by organizing Surgical Eye Camps and Diagnostic Screening and Treatment (DST) Eye Camps under Outreach Program.

 In addition, to eliminate avoidable blindness in school children, the hospital is conducting school screening programs in various parts of this region.

 There are also various teaching and training courses for the hospital workers, ophthalmic assistants and medical residents offered in the hospital. We are also conducting research projects directed towards improving surgical techniques and care for the patients.

 WHERE WE WORK

Geta Eye Hospital is located in Geta VDC in Kailali District, which is 12 kilometers north from Dhangadhi town. We largely serve patients from the Seti and Mahakali Zones. There are five districts in Seti Zone and four districts in Mahakali Zone. The total population according to the census 2011 is 2,667,366 and is increasing annually with 1.49%.

 We treat people at our main hospital and in several other locations in and around the district, which enables us to provide treatment close to patients’ homes. A total of eleven of the following primary eye care Satellite Centers are running under the umbrella of this eye hospital and providing preventive and curative eye care services in different district of this region:

 Satellite Centers

 PRIORITIES OF THE YEAR

Conduct surgical and screening eye camps to reach the unreached

Create awareness by providing eye health education

Strengthen eye care delivery by providing training to human resources

Conduct school screening program to reduce childhood blindness

Conduct surgical and screening eye camps to reach the unreached

Create awareness by providing eye health education

Strengthen eye care delivery by providing training to human resources

Conduct school screening program to reduce childhood blindness

FIVE YEARLY PLAN 2010-2014

 Project goal

To reduce the prevalence of avoidable blindness below public health significant  (0.2% ) by the year  2020

Objective

• To reduce the prevalence of blindness above 50 Yrs by 50% and over all blindness below 0.4% by the end of 2014.
• To increase cataract surgical coverage  (VA <6/60 in eye ) by 50% at the end of 2014
• To increase the cataract Surgical Rate (CSR) from 3000 to 4000 by the end of 2014 in the far western region.
• To reduce the visual impairment due to refractive error by 25% in school children.
• To reduce the prevalence of blindness due to trachoma by 50%.
• To create awareness about eye health problems and cataract service to 80% people of this region.
• To achieve 25% service coverage to Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) and 50% to Glaucoma.

Data in 2023

Total OPD : 3,21,478

Total Surgery : 20,572